Category: News

CHICAGO – Pat Quinn issued the following statement following the Tuesday, March 20, primary election results:

In an election, things don’t always go your way. No matter what candidate you support in the primary, it’s important for Democrats to band together to win in November.

I’m proud to whole-heartedly support the statewide Democratic ticket in Illinois, including Kwame Raoul for Attorney General.

Over the last several months, we traveled across Illinois talking about the need to take on Trump and stand up for everyday people. I intend to continue to do that from today to the November 6 general election.

To all my supporters, I want to thank you for your commitment to the cause. I’m grateful for your support, and I will never stop working to make the will of the people the law of the land!

CHICAGO – David Roeder, spokesman for Quinn for Illinois, released the following statement:

It’s sad that Kwame Raoul is engaging in more desperate, false attacks against Pat Quinn. Kwame Raoul himself defended Pat Quinn at a 2010 Rainbow Push event against these same charges when Quinn was attacked by Dan Hynes. Kwame Raoul’s desperate attacks are to cover up the fact that he doesn’t want voters to know who’s funding his campaign – big tobacco, big utilities, big banks, and even red light camera operators. With all those conflicts of interest, Raoul can’t be trusted to be on our side for Attorney General.

CHICAGO – Pat Quinn, former Illinois Governor and ​Democratic ​candidate for Illinois Attorney General, released the following ​statement in response to recent reports regarding Erika Harold’s views on gay adoptions:

Erika Harold’s reported views about the legitimate adoption rights of gay couples should alarm everyone in Illinois. Ms. Harold should know that there is never a situation when it is acceptable to knowingly put children in an unsafe home.

All children deserve loving parents who will protect them from harm. To expose foster youth to abusive placements is inexcusable and wrong.

As Governor, I stood for tolerance and fought hard to make marriage equality the law of Illinois. As Attorney General, I will speak out against bigotry whenever it surfaces. I will protect children from abusive situations and I will safeguard the rights of gay couples.

As Bruce Rauner’s handpicked candidate for Attorney General, Ms. Harold has the duty to protect children from abuse and combat bigotry of any kind.

CHICAGO – Pat Quinn, Democratic candidate for Attorney General and former Illinois Governor, was joined by State Senator Emil Jones III (D-Chicago) discuss the importance of safety net hospitals and Quinn’s decisive steps to save Roseland Community Hospital from certain closure five years ago. Sen. Jones also endorsed Quinn in his bid for Attorney General.

“Safety net hospitals like Roseland are an anchor for the community, and as Governor it was a priority for me to protect their patients and employees,” Quinn said. “These vital services were able to continue because we worked together to keep the doors open and come up with a viable, long-term plan for Roseland to remain open in the future.”

Roseland Community Hospital provides much-needed assistance to poor families, including many who do not have insurance. In 2013, Roseland was millions of dollars in debt and on the verge of closure. With the vital assistance of Sen. Emil Jones III, discussions began with the Quinn administration to find a viable path forward for Roseland.

On June 5, 2013, the Quinn administration announced $350,000 in temporary assistance to Roseland, and then worked to bring about structural changes that would keep Roseland solvent for the long term.

“I was proud to work with Sen. Jones to keep these healthcare services and jobs in the community, and I’m proud to have his support in this race,” Quinn added.​

CHICAGO – Pat Quinn, Democratic candidate for Attorney General and former Illinois Governor, today attended oral argument ​on Quinn et al v. Board of Education of the City of Chicago, ​a ​lawsuit to require an election for an elected, representative school board on February 26, 2019, the same day as the next Chicago municipal elections.

“Every school board in Illinois has elected members except Chicago,” Quinn said. “Chicago voters have a fundamental, constitutional right to have their voices heard just as every other Illinois voter does.”

The legislature has not acted on proposed legislation for an elected, representative school board. One such bill, HB 1774, would only cause an election for school board members in 2023, five years from now.

“In our lawsuit, we seek immediate relief: an election for Chicago school board members at the same time we elect the Mayor,” Quinn said. “This violation of fundamental voting rights cannot stand.”

Pat Quinn is the lead plaintiff in Quinn v. Board of Education, which was filed on October 5, 2016. The complaint, which is in state court, alleges that the current system constitutes an equal protection violation, a denial of due process rights, and a denial of the right to equal elections.

Quinn was elected as a community member to the local school council of Sayre School in Chicago in 1990.

Pat Quinn, Democratic candidate for Attorney General and former Illinois Governor, was recently featured in the Decatur Herald & Review, where he called for Ameren and the other big utilities to return the money they received from the new tax bill.

Ameren and other big utilities owe it to their ratepayers to return the windfall they got from Donald Trump’s corporate tax breaks.

This is a false attack from Mayor Rotering, who should know better. As governor, Pat Quinn signed laws to toughen penalties for gun crimes. As attorney general, he will continue his work to ban assault weapons. In 2012, Governor Quinn received the Abraham Lincoln Award from the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence for his work on preventing gun violence. It will take determined advocacy, not unwarranted attacks, to achieve essential, common-sense reform to protect communities across Illinois.

Please see this 2013 article in which the NRA-backed gun industry assailed Governor Quinn for his efforts to ban assault weapons.

For me, gun violence isn’t an issue for politicians to bandy about in TV ads. It’s personal.

After gun violence changed my life, I became an advocate for common-sense gun laws. In and out of office, Pat Quinn has been right there trying to keep our communities safe from guns. He’s passionate about banning high-capacity ammunition magazines. He’s passionate about providing opportunities in schools and the community to keep kids off the streets.

I know that Pat Quinn is committed to ending gun violence, because he’s been beside me on the front lines. Nancy Rotering should be ashamed of herself for her misleading negative ad.

Pat Quinn, Democratic candidate for Attorney General and former Illinois Governor, was recently featured in the Galesburg Register-Mail, where he recommended new ideas to increase the power of Illinois voters, including the direct election of the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate.

That’s an idea I’ve kind of come across in my own head over the last couple of years, given my experience down there in Springfield. I just feel that the leaders of the legislature of both houses need to have a broader constituency than just the members who elected them speaker or president.

Pat Quinn, Democratic candidate for Attorney General and former Illinois Governor, was recently profiled by Illinois Times.

On my birthday, Dec. 16, we did the Homeless Veterans Sleep-Out in Chicago. For the past five years a group of veterans and their friends get together to sleep out for 24 hours. You can come at any time during that 24-hour stretch. My time was late on Dec. 15 and it went into early Dec. 16. We brought a birthday cake, we had about 40 people there, and the cake was very popular.

CHICAGO – Pat Quinn, Democratic candidate for Attorney General and former Illinois Governor, today kicked off a consumer campaign to take on the latest effort by Bank of America and the other big banks to impose unfair fees on the checking accounts of everyday people.

Bank of America is the nation’s second largest bank with over 100 branches and ATMs in the Chicago area. Bank of America is now ending a free customer checking account that does not require a minimum balance.

“Big banks like Bank of America were bailed out by American taxpayers in 2008, and it’s just plain wrong for these banking behemoths to now take advantage of their customers by imposing large and artificial fees on their modest checking accounts,” Quinn said.

“Bank of America should listen to the more than 118​,000 people who have signed a petition online and let working families across Illinois keep their no-fee​ checking accounts.”

Earlier this month, Bank of America dropped its free checking account for customers with low balances and shuffled them into accounts ​that charge​ a $12 monthly fee – unless the customer has a monthly direct deposit of $250 or a minimum daily balance of $1,500.

A consumer petition on Change.org has received over 118,000 digital signatures. Click here to view and sign the petition:

The petition calls on Bank of America to keep providing free checking accounts and notes that in today’s economy “virtual transactions are the main and sometimes only way of paying bills or purchasing goods and services.”

“I encourage everyone to sign the Change.org petition, post it on Facebook and Twitter, and email it to your friends,” Quinn said.

Pat Quinn served as Illinois State Treasurer from 1991 to 1995 and championed no-fee lifeline checking accounts. In 1983, Quinn spearheaded the referendum movement that led to the creation of the Citizens Utility Board, Illinois’ largest consumer group, which is on the front lines fighting against unfair utility ​fees and rate hikes.

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Donate what you can to help elect Pat Quinn as our next Attorney General and make the will of the people the law of the land!

“Illinois needs an attorney general that will fight back against Donald Trump’s unconstitutional policies. And we need a leader unafraid to take on the big banks and big utilities. As Attorney General, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”